Xu Guiyan signs with Orioles, becoming the first player who is Chinese by birth and ancestry to ink a contract to play in the United States. The 19 year-old outfielder/first baseman nicknamed ‘Itchy,’ at the MLB China Development Center in Wuxi, Jiangsu will be evaluated by the Orioles scouts in the spring, before being assigned to a minor league affiliate.

Zack Greinke of the Dodgers extends his streak of shutout innings to 43 2/3 by tossing 8 innings without allowing a run in defeating the Nationals, 5 – 0. It is the longest such streak in the majors since Orel Hershiser pitched 59 straight innings without allowing a run in 1988 to set the major league record.

The Mets strand 25 baserunners but manage to defeat the Cardinals, 3 – 1, in 18 innings. Ruben Tejada drives in the winning run with a sacrifice fly and Eric Campbell follows with a successful squeeze bunt as the Mets go 1-for-26 with runners in scoring position. Starter Carlos Martinez is pressed into service for the Cards and takes the loss, pitching 4 innings. The game is scoreless for 12 innings, until Kevin Plawecki drives in a run for the Mets in the 13th, but Kolten Wong replies with a solo homer.

After a two-and-a-half-hour delay, the Angels finally call off their game against the Red Sox, making the postponement the team’s first home game canceled because of inclement weather in twenty years. The last rainout in Anaheim occurred on June 16, 1995, covering a span of 1,609 consecutive games, when the Halos and White Sox were washed out.

Chris Tillman allows a single to the first batter he faces, Ian Kinsler and a walk to Victor Martinez later in the 1st inning, but he then retires 23 straight batters in combining with Zach Britton on a one-hitter. The Orioles beat the Tigers, 3 – 0.

The lights go out in Washington as the Nats’ first home game after the All-Star break is interrupted with the Dodgers leading, 2 – 1, in the 4th inning when a bank of lights on the third base side of the field at Nationals Park go out. Stadium personnel manage to turn them back on after a one hour, 22 minute delay, play resumes for 9 minutes, and the lights go out again. This time, 40 minutes are needed to restore power, but it lasts just 12 minutes. The game is finally suspended at 10:42 pm in the 5th inning, the Nationals having in the meantime taken the lead on a two-run homer by Danny Espinosa during the second brief resumption of play.

The International League wins the AAA All-Star Game, 4 – 3, over the Pacific Coast League. Peter O’Brien hits a two-run homer to put the PCL ahead, 3 – 1, in the bottom of the 8th, but in the 9th PCL pitcher Jon Edwards loads the bases with none out. Kyle Roller hits a two-run single and Tyler Henson singles in the winning run. O’Brien and Roller are named their respective league’s player of the game.

The Central League wins 2016 NPB All-Star Game 1, 5-4, thanks to homers from Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (game MVP), Wladimir Balentien and Hayato Sakamoto. Shintaro Fujinami gets the win and Shota Nakazaki the save. Two CL rookies get hits, the first time two rookies had hits in the same NPB All-Star Game; Shun Takayama and Yasutaka Tobashira were the impressing freshmen.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis, recently reacquired by the Mets from the Angels after they sold him to the Halos in May, hits three home runs his first three at-bats, helping the team complete a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks with a 5-3 victory at Citi Field. The outfielder’s first three homers of the season mark the tenth time in franchise history a player has a gone deep three times in a game, but the 27 year-old is the first to accomplish the feat at home.